


The role of sex in history

by ibonekoen



Category: The Lion in Winter (1968), The Lion in Winter - All Media Types
Genre: M/M, john is there too in the background but i forgot to mention him
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-26
Updated: 2020-12-26
Packaged: 2021-03-11 04:00:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 430
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28338861
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ibonekoen/pseuds/ibonekoen
Summary: Tapestries are meant for eavesdropping, but Richard hears something he would've been better off not knowing.
Relationships: Geoffrey Plantagenet/Philip II of France, Philip II of France/Richard I of England
Comments: 2
Kudos: 5





	The role of sex in history

**Author's Note:**

  * For [mspennydreadful](https://archiveofourown.org/users/mspennydreadful/gifts).



> This came to me after my first rewatch with Couerdelion as a muse, and my friend shared with me a tidbit from the remake (which I haven't seen because who could play those bickering lovers like Peter O'Toole and Katharine Heburn) that Geoffrey and Philip were literally in bed with each other. This grew from ruminating over that from Richard's perspective. 
> 
> Thank you to said friend (mspennydreadful) for catching my anachronisms.

"You fucked Geoff?" The words leave a bitter taste in Richard's mouth, and he can't look at his brother standing in the opening of the thrown back tapestry. His stomach churns at the knowledge Geoffrey heard everything he'd said to Philip, the tenderness in his voice when he'd taken Philip's hand and promised him anything as Philip led him to bed. The smugness on Geoffrey's face when he'd thrown open the tapestry and revealed the truth had been awful and cruel, and Richard knows Geoffrey had loved every second of his shock and dismay. 

It's more cruel to see the impassive look on Philip's sweet, handsome face as Richard stands before him. He's grown, Richard's beloved Philip, his lover, and he's eye to eye with Richard now. Still slender, still youthful, and god, so pretty, those lips. Richard's written so many lines dedicated to these devilish lips. 

"Why?" He has to know. He has to hear it from Philip himself. 

"Isn't it obvious?" Geoff says, the smugness in his voice making Richard's hand ache to punch him. 

"I didn't ask you," Richard growls, and Philip's bluer than the ocean eyes never leave his. There's a biting tension in the air, and damn him, if Geoff wasn't in the room, Richard thinks he would still let Philip take him to bed and they could fight it out there, naked and covered in a sheen of sweat. 

"To hurt me?" Richard asks, demanding an answer from Philip, his sweet boy. "To ruin me?" He vigorously shakes his head, refusing to believe any of that. "No. No, I don't believe it was all a lie. I know when you lie. You told me you loved me, and you said it with complete sincerity. Christ, Philip, you begged me not to go! You begged me to write you when I left! You pleaded with me to come back to you!" 

He's aware his voice has risen, that he's bellowing not unlike his father, and god, he's forgotten Henry is right there too, strangely and unnaturally quiet. It's not like Henry to hold his tongue, and Richard can't bear to look at him, can't bear to see the disappointment that must be there. 

Richard's shoulders slump and he pants, his rage expended and leaving only grief in its wake. "God, I hope it was worth it, Philip. You've left me heartbroken." 

Philip has been silent up until now, and his quiet, soft voice shatters Richard all the more as he says "You'd have to actually have a heart first, Richard, before it could be broken."


End file.
